With your help, HUMUS sapiens will dig even deeper!

After our successful wemakeit campaign in 2018 (https://vimeo.com/258892378 ), You too can become part of our «open soil research» project.

Soil creation and regeneration requires a tightly intertwined and interwoven network of organisms and matter, from microbes to animals and plants. The crosstalk between all of those compounds enables seeds to sprout on fertile soil.

We believe that this diversity is always the key to creativity and innovation: HUMUS sapiens creates interdisciplinary crosstalk and collaboration from scientists, biohackers, artists and ecologists to farmers and gardeners, to share and build knowledge and tools for soil analysis and regeneration, that can be available for the society.

With your help, we will meet from 25.10. - 27.10.2019 at Project draussen ~ http://projekt-draussen.com ~ near Munich, Germany, to share everything we have learned from 18 months of HUMUS sapiens.

Who is HUMUS sapiens?

We are a group of citizen scientists interested in microbiology and the environment. The Global Hackteria Network, Gasthaus: Fermentation and Bacteria and the mikroBIOMIK society joined forces to bring citizen science and the hacker spirit into soil ecology. We built a network of soil enthusiasts for long-term collaborative research and invite YOU and everyone else to join us in our quest for a better understanding of the role of microorganisms in keeping the soil healthy.

2018 was very intense: we ran a successful crowdfunding campaign, we organised 3 wonderful multi-day retreats and 6 additional workshops to learn with participants.

2019 it goes on!! In the first half of the year alone we already had 6 events: in Berlin, Vienna, Tel Aviv, Paris, Vilnius and Munich.

You support will be used to:

Invite more curious people to join our network of soil enthusiasts for long-term collaborative research.

Make the «HUMUS sapiens soil retreat» happen. We want more brilliant minds (including yours) to come together to work on DIY scientific methodologies and participate in workshops on the topic of soil ecology. The event will take place from 25.10.–27.10.2019 nearby Munich. Come and contribute with your enthusiasm and competence, sharing knowledge while hanging out with inspiring people.

Bring «open soil research» to you. Contact us before booking, especially if you have a specific need or schedule.

DIY (do it yourself), DIT (do it together) or DIWO (do it with others)? - It doesn’t matter: let’s do something amazing!

Why is soil so imortant?

Far more than just the dirt under our feet, soil is a truly complex and dynamic ecosystem. It is a constantly changing mix of minerals, living organisms, decaying organic matter, air and water. It is the living skin of our planet, allowing new forms of life to come into being, incorporating the nutrients left there by organisms of the past.

Soil is bursting with life and can be vastly different from one square cm to the next. From plants, earthworms, insects and fungi to the invisible amoeba, nematodes, algae and bacteria – each creature provides their own essential role in the soil ecosystem.

It may take hundreds or thousands of years for fertile topsoil to be formed naturally, but it can be eroded almost instantly. Human impact on the soil, including intensive agricultural practices (deforestation, overgrazing, use of agrochemicals) and urbanization, leads to compaction, loss of soil structure, nutrient degradation and contamination, breaking down these ecosystems and reducing the soil to infertile desert.

In their ’Global Land Outlook’ (2017) the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification stated that «in Europe alone, poor land management practices account for an estimated 970 million tons of soil loss due to erosion each year; worldwide, the annual loss of soil is estimated at 24 billion tons.»

Project Status

Rewards

EUR

10

0 taken

Thank you!!!

We really appreciate your support! Your name will be featured in the supporter section of the HUMUS sapiens website.

EUR

20

2 taken

Seeds & Sticker

You will get a bag of biological wildflower-seeds that will make your garden look beautiful and at the same time improves soil quality. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Plus: three stickers & we will mention your name in the supporter section of our website (optional).

EUR

30

5 / 5 taken

Early Bird T-Shirt

YOUR CHOICE: You will get a T-shirt in your size - hand-printed with either the HUMUS SAPIENS logo, or the mikroBIOMIK logo. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Plus three stickers and we will mention your name in the supporter section of our website (optional).

EUR

40

3 taken

Supporter's T-shirt

YOUR CHOICE: You will get a T-shirt in your size - hand-printed with either the HUMUS SAPIENS logo, or the mikroBIOMIK logo. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Plus three stickers and we will mention your name in the supporter section of our website (optional).

EUR

60

1 taken

Gardener's T-Shirt

YOUR CHOICE: You will get a T-shirt in your size - hand-printed with either the HUMUS sapiens logo, or the mikroBIOMIK logo. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Plus three stickers and we will mention your name in the supporter section of our website (optional).

EUR

80

2 / 10 taken

Sponsor a Tree

We will plant a tree for you near Munich. :)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PLUS: you will get a T-shirt with the HUMUS sapiens logo/mikroBIOMIK logo in your size, three stickers and your name on our website.

Exclusive Retreat ticket

~~~~~~ GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY! ~~~~~~ Ticket for HUMUS sapiens soil retreat 2019 - incl. sleeping (2 nights dorm or tent) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If the date doesn't suit you, we will send you a voucher for another HUMUS sapiens event in the future.

EUR

500

0 / 1 taken

VIP Retreat Ticket for 2

~~~~~~ GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY! ~~~~~~ 2 Tickets for the HUMUS sapiens Soil Retreat 2019 – incl. food and 2 nights in a private room.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On top of that we will plant a tree for you!! PLUS: you will get a T-shirt with the HUMUS sapiens logo/mikroBIOMIK logo in your size, three stickers and your name on our website. (optional)

EUR

700

1 / 3 taken

Book a WORKSHOP

Bring «Open soil research» to your location (3h workshop). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Get your hands dirty and learn more about soil ecology. The course can be adapted to all ages and backgrounds. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Languages: German or English ~~~~~~~~ Group size: max. 15 participants

EUR

1.500

1 / 3 taken

Book a Full-Day-Workshop

Bring «Open soil research» to your location (1 day program). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Get your hands dirty and learn more about soil ecology. The course can be adapted to all ages and backgrounds. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Languages: German or English. ~~~~~~~~ Group size: max. 20 participants

About the Initiators

Dr. Julian Chollet is researching and teaching in the field of micro- and molecular biology and experiments with interactive concepts of science communication.Member of the Hackteria network and founder of mikroBIOMIK

mikroBIOMIK The non-profit association mikroBIOMIK society promotes intrinsic curiosity and participation in science - with a focus on invisible creatures.

Josephine is scientist, teacher and actress. Her research is driven by curiosity and interdisciplinarity. Her prospective is the communication of science leading to scientific matter being accessible and understandable to public audience.

Dr. Marc Dusseiller aka dusjagr is a nomadic researcher and workshopologist. He is part of the Center for Alternative Coconut Research and co-founder of SGMK and the Hackteria network. He is travelling the world making DIWO labs for biological experimentation. He entered the world of DIY electronics making synthesizers and organizing workshops mostly in Zürich. He also loves coconuts.

In Partnership with

Get involved and help researchers and citizen scientists find out more about the world that surrounds you! To double the impact, the Gebert Rüf Stiftung has pledged to match the amount you contribute to successful science projects on wemakeit. In other words: for every Swiss franc raised, the project gets another Swiss franc.

Interested in raising funds for your science project? All necessary information and the conditions of participation are available here. You can also contact us by email: science@wemakeit.com.